Thursday, November 24, 2005
Well, things happen.
I had to hoof it to the train station, because I lost track of the time while I was in the internet cafe. So I was concerned on my arrival, because my train wasn't listed on the board, and nobody was able to tell me why. Finally I found the Enquiry desk at the far end of the station and found out that the train was delayed for six hours (!). So I took a deep breath, drank a lassi, and took out my guidebook again. That led to a 30 minute ride in an auto-rickshaw to a path up into the mountain above Jaipur.
A 45 minute hike up the very steep path brought me to a small temple with an incredible overview of the city. Until then I hadn't realized how mammoth the city is. It spreads out as far as you can see - there is a perpetual haze in India during the dry season - in the flat plain between two mountain ridges.
Down a twisting path from this temple there was an exquisite set of quirky temples, perpetually in shadow from the mountains towering over them. I would have liked to explore them at some length, but needed to get back for the train.
Of course, the train was delayed again. That gave me time for a very good meal at the Kanji hotel/fast food/sweets/restaurant. Those fantastic little dessert balls soaked in honey are called Golab Jamun. The 12:00pm train finally left at 6:20pm.
I had to hoof it to the train station, because I lost track of the time while I was in the internet cafe. So I was concerned on my arrival, because my train wasn't listed on the board, and nobody was able to tell me why. Finally I found the Enquiry desk at the far end of the station and found out that the train was delayed for six hours (!). So I took a deep breath, drank a lassi, and took out my guidebook again. That led to a 30 minute ride in an auto-rickshaw to a path up into the mountain above Jaipur.
A 45 minute hike up the very steep path brought me to a small temple with an incredible overview of the city. Until then I hadn't realized how mammoth the city is. It spreads out as far as you can see - there is a perpetual haze in India during the dry season - in the flat plain between two mountain ridges.
Down a twisting path from this temple there was an exquisite set of quirky temples, perpetually in shadow from the mountains towering over them. I would have liked to explore them at some length, but needed to get back for the train.
Of course, the train was delayed again. That gave me time for a very good meal at the Kanji hotel/fast food/sweets/restaurant. Those fantastic little dessert balls soaked in honey are called Golab Jamun. The 12:00pm train finally left at 6:20pm.
